1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a gas-detection sensor and more particularly to a solid state mass spectrograph which is micro-machined on a semiconductor substrate, and, even more particularly, to a diaphragm pump for the low pressure pumping of gases used in such a mass spectrograph.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices are currently available for determining the quantity and type of molecules present in a gas sample. One such device is the mass-spectrometer.
Mass-spectrometers determine the quantity and type of molecules present in a gas sample by measuring their masses. This is accomplished by ionizing a small sample and then using electric and/or magnetic fields to find a charge-to-mass ratio of the ion. Current mass-spectrometers are bulky, bench-top sized instruments. These mass-spectrometers are heavy (100 pounds) and expensive. Their big advantage is that they can be used in any environment.
Another device used to determine the quantity and type of molecules present in a gas sample is a chemical sensor. These can be purchased for a low cost, but these sensors must be calibrated to work in a specific environment and are sensitive to a limited number of chemicals. Therefore, multiple sensors are needed in complex environments.
A need exists for a low-cost gas detection sensor that will work in any environment. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/124,873, filed Sep. 22, 1993, hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a solid state mass-spectrograph which can be implemented on a semiconductor substrate. FIG. 1 illustrates a functional diagram of such a mass-spectrograph 1. This mass-spectrograph 1 is capable of simultaneously detecting a plurality of constituents in a sample gas. This sample gas enters the spectrograph 1 through dust filter 3 which keeps particulate from clogging the gas sampling path. This sample gas then moves through a sample orifice 5 to a gas ionizer 7 where it is ionized by electron bombardment, energetic particles from nuclear decays, or in an electrical discharge plasma. Ion optics 9 accelerate and focus the ions through a mass filter 11. The mass filter 11 applies a strong electromagnetic field to the ion beam. Mass filters which utilize primarily magnetic fields appear to be best suited for the miniature mass-spectrograph since the required magnetic field of about 1 Tesla (10,000 gauss) is easily achieved in a compact, permanent magnet design. Ions of the sample gas that are accelerated to the same energy will describe circular paths when exposed in the mass-filter 11 to a homogenous magnetic field perpendicular to the ion's direction of travel. The radius of the arc of the path is dependent upon the ion's mass-to-charge ratio. The mass-filter 11 is preferably a Wien filter in which crossed electrostatic and magnetic fields produce a constant velocity-filtered ion beam 13 in which the ions are disbursed according to their mass/charge ratio in a dispersion plane which is in the plane of FIG. 1.
A vacuum pump 15 creates a vacuum in the mass-filter 11 to provide a collision-free environment for the ions. This vacuum is needed in order to prevent error in the ion's trajectories due to these collisions.
The mass-filtered ion beam is collected in a ion detector 17. Preferably, the ion detector 17 is a linear array of detector elements which makes possible the simultaneous detection of a plurality of the constituents of the sample gas. A microprocessor 19 analyses the detector output to determine the chemical makeup of the sampled gas using well-known algorithms which relate the velocity of the ions and their mass. The results of the analysis generated by the microprocessor 19 are provided to an output device 21 which can comprise an alarm, a local display, a transmitter and/or data storage. The display can take the form shown at 21 in FIG. 1 in which the constituents of the sample gas are identified by the lines measured in atomic mass units (AMU).
Preferably, mass-spectrograph 1 is implemented in a semiconductor chip 23 as illustrated in FIG. 2. In the preferred spectrograph 1, chip 23 is about 20 mm long, 10 mm wide and 0.8 mm thick. Chip 23 comprises a substrate of semiconductor material formed in two halves 25a and 25b which are joined along longitudinally extending parting surfaces 27a and 27b. The two substrate halves 25a and 25b form at their parting surfaces 27a and 27b an elongated cavity 29. This cavity 29 has an inlet section 31, a gas ionizing section 33, a mass filter section 35, and a detector section 37. A number of partitions 39 formed in the substrate extend across the cavity 29 forming chambers 41. These chambers 41 are interconnected by aligned apertures 43 in the partitions 39 in the half 25a which define the path of the gas through the cavity 29. Vacuum pump 15 is connected to each of the chambers 41 through lateral passages 45 formed in the confronting surfaces 27a and 27b. This arrangement provides differential pumping of the chambers 41 and makes it possible to achieve the pressures and pump displacement volume or pumping speed required in the mass filter and detector sections with a miniature vacuum pump.
In order to evacuate cavity 29 and draw a sample of gas into the spectrograph 1, pump 15 must be capable of operation at very low pressures. Moreover, because of size constraints, pump 15 must be micro-miniature in size. Although a number of prior art micro-pumps have been described, these pumps have generally focused on the pumping of liquids. In addition, micro-pumps have been used to pump gases near or higher than atmospheric pressure. Moreover, such micro-pumps are fabricated by bulk micro-machining techniques wherein several silicon or glass wafers are bonded together. This is a cumbersome procedure which is less than fully compatible with integrated circuit applications. Accordingly, there is a need for a micro-miniature diaphragm pump capable of pumping gases at low pressures which can be fabricated with ease.